It illustrates the difficult balance India faces as the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases while it seeks to increase its non-fossil fuel capacity to mitigate the growing impacts of climate change.
“The big companies came here and built the windmills, but they are useless to us,” says 65-year-old herder Nena Ram, describing an ancient agricultural system that has been turned upside down by the giant turbines.
The country is increasingly suffering the devastating effects of heat waves, floods and droughts – events that climate scientists say are being exacerbated by rising global temperatures.
But people in areas where renewable energy is being generated say their needs have been sacrificed for the common good.
In the western state of Rajasthan, where most of the Thar Desert lies, this is leading to the loss of pastoral land and the destruction of sacred groves called “orans”. Protected by the community for centuries, the desert oases collect water that is vital to their pastoral-based economy of camels, cattle and goats. But herders say heavy construction vehicles are damaging water sources, reducing the size of the grassland and drying out the land even further.
The contribution of farmers like Ram to greenhouse gases has nothing to do with the exhaust-emitting giants of India’s coal-hungry heavy industry.
He is dealing with a brutal double blow.
First he was affected by the consequences of climate change. Then he was shocked by the efforts to contain it.
“Pay the price”
Hundreds of turbines dot the deserts surrounding the Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan; it is one of the largest onshore wind farms in India.
According to government figures, Rajasthan has the capacity to supply five gigawatts (GW) of wind energy to the grid.
Many turbines are owned by Indian conglomerates, including the Adani Group and Suzlon.
The companies say they support India’s national efforts to transition to renewable energy while supporting communities affected by the construction.
Suzlon says it is providing “sustainable development for the villages surrounding its wind farms,” including health, education and livestock projects.
Adani says the company is “deeply committed” to the community and supports schools and drinking water programs.
But farmers are complaining vehemently that the turbines were built on communal pastureland.
Milk production has also collapsed.
“The farmers are paying the price,” says Jitendra Kumar, who works at a local health clinic.
“Their land has been taken away from them. Windmills occupy the land that was intended for cattle grazing.”
“Live in the darkness”
Power lines crisscross the desert around Jaisalmer, a district home to about 670,000 people according to the last census.
However, power outages are common there, sometimes lasting several days at a time.
Local residents say the electricity will be channeled to meet growing demand in industrial centers and major cities.
“We live our lives in the dark,” said local environmental activist Sumer Singh Bhati.
“We barely have two hours of electricity a day… We desperately need light.”
In summer, power outages are unbearable. Temperatures sometimes reach 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit).
According to government weather experts, India experienced its longest heatwave ever this year.
They warn that there will be even more oppressive temperatures in the future.
India aims to increase its non-fossil fuel-based electricity capacity to 500 GW by 2030 and has committed to achieving a net-zero emissions economy by 2070 – two decades after most of the developed West.
Renewable energy power plants are currently being built at a rapid pace. According to government figures, capacity has increased from 76 GW to 203 GW in the last decade. Around a quarter of this is generated by wind power.
However, to achieve the target of 500 GW of renewable energy, large-scale expansion is required.
“How will we survive?”
Such statistics mean little to the villagers who live near the huge wind turbines. They condemn them as “intruders into the white houses”.
Environmental activists say that although the desert is a dead zone to outsiders, it is an area rich in biodiversity.
Locally revered species such as the critically endangered great bustard are threatened with extinction.
The once widespread giant brown and white birds fly into the network of power lines.
Parth Jagani, an environmental activist from Jaisalmer, said the number has dropped dramatically over the past 25 years – there are only 150 left in the entire country.
“After the wind turbines and high-voltage power lines were installed, their mortality rate increased,” Jagani said.
In 2021, the Supreme Court ordered that power lines in important bird breeding areas be buried underground.
However, the government appealed and overturned the decision on the grounds that it would hinder the achievement of renewable energy targets.
The villagers have erected a monument to the bird, a statue of a lonely bustard.
“What will we do if our birds and animals are taken away from us?” asked Ram, stroking his massive gray moustache.
“How will we survive?”
